One Firefighter Admits To Unprofessional Conduct

One member of the Mission fire department admitted he made inappropriate statements after an investigation of alleged bullying and harassment of a challenged coworker concluded.

 

 

Captain assistant fire marshal Michael Reyes confessed to making improper comments about Joseph Fisher’s size and weight, according to documents obtained by the Progress Times.

 

Reyes told Fisher in front of a witness that if they were stranded on a deserted island, he would eat Fisher first because, “he had more meat,” referring to Fisher’s physical appearance, the report shows.

 

When Fisher’s complaints first came to light earlier this year, Reyes initially denied that he engaged in workplace harassment or bullying, along with the rest of the fire department personnel, and he submitted a written statement in which he denied workplace harassment or bullying of Fisher.  Reyes later conceded to fire chief Mike Silva that Fisher’s claim about the deserted island statement was true, documents show.

 

Firefighter Jorge Balderas, also accused of harassment by Fisher, was cleared in this inquiry.

 

The report shows Balderas stated that any remark he made to Fisher during a staff meeting was, “intended jokingly and was not intended to create a hostile or abusive environment.” The report also noted that no witness statements were available to support Fisher’s complaint against Balderas.

 

The May 7 supplemental report was produced by attorney Camela Sandmann of Harlingen-based law firm Denton Navarro Rodriguez Vernal Santee & Zech, PC. Sandmann also composed the original investigation report dated April 8 which cleared the rest of the fire department personnel of harassment of Fisher.

 

Sandmann had to redo the report after she omitted Reyes and Balderas from the original document, and city staff and officials did not catch the error. It was not until the Progress Times asked specifically about the status of Reyes and Balderas that the city requested the report addendum, and then it took another four weeks for the final results to make it from city hall into Fisher’s hands.

 

 

It does not appear that Sandmann interviewed any of the fire department personnel in person, with the report stating that she reviewed written statements and transcripts, which are not included in the report.

 

The law firm is under contract with the city and charges $275 per hour for senior associates, which is Sandmann’s job title, according to city documents.

 

Fisher is challenged and was a fire department volunteer for about 10 years, a dispatcher for 10 years, and now a receptionist for five years, for a total of 26.5 years of service under four fire chiefs without incident. A series of police reports filed by Fisher and his mother, Margaret Fisher since January detail the alleged verbal abuse he suffered at work.

 

Sandmann wrote that Reyes’s statement to Fisher does not constitute unlawful harassment or discrimination under federal or state law, it should be considered a workplace professionalism violation and corrective action should be taken at the department level.

 

The report shows Silva, who was named fire chief in 2025, has already implemented corrective action and counseling measures for Reyes.